Altered Rapture
by Unconquerable
Summary: Chicago, 1918- Two teenagers caught in a forbidden romance. One life-changing event promising heartbreak and eternal isolation. ExB. AU.


**Hey guys, I hope you like my new story! Here, I will give you a summary:**

**The year is 1918. Isabella Swan clumsily walks the streets of Chicago hoping to find her own fairytale to claim as her own.** **Edward Masen is the most popular in his social circle. He wishes he'd find a woman who didn't love him for his look. ****Will thier social classes keep them apart, or will they find a way to keep their connection lasting?**

**Hope you like!**

**Here it is:**

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**EPOV**

Today was officially one of the hottest and hellish days of summer.

The upper-class men and women where whipping out their handkerchiefs and fanning themselves in a desperate attempt to cool themselves off. The lower-class men and servants were headed toward the nearest river, assuming that they had the day off. How I envied them.

Me? Well, I was being held hostage in a stuffy room, with no windows opened, surrounded by petty, not _pretty_, ladies who had gossip problems. My mother had graciously taken it upon herself to find me a bride before I turned 18.

Most people my age wouldn't have a problem courting a pretty girl, and then being married off. Well, I wasn't most people.

I was captivated by the ideas of going overseas to fight for my country. The idea of joining World War 1 had already imprinted itself into my mind. Never mind that I might not marry, might not be a lawyer like my father wanted me to be. I wanted to fight!

And with the drafting age lowered to 18, by next June, I was going to be a soldier.

But, that certainly wasn't going to be accomplished by sitting here.

"Did you hear about what happened to Miss Conner during the weekend, Edward? Dreadfully scandalous, isn't it?" a girl named Abigail questioned me, while batting her eyelashes. I repressed the urge to ask her what was stuck in her eye.

The other girls took this as an opportunity to chatter about their newly acquired gossip, instead of listening to my mother.

"Oh Edward, did you_ see _the hideous ball gown that Miss Livingston wore to the Annual Charity Ball? Couldn't you just gag?" A girl with too much make up caked onto her face asked.

"I heard that Miss Vasquez is courting a Mister Jacob Black, _and_ he's a carriage attendant!"

"Isn't the weather lovely outside, Edward?"

Wow. Can you say feebleminded?

I politely excused myself, and left the girls to trade their malicious talk with each other. As I passed my mother, I whispered, "I need some air." I dashed out the door before she could contradict me.

I didn't need insignificant girls who, at the chance provided, threw themselves at me. No, if I was to be paired off, I'd like a girl with at least a brain. Someone who could talk about real issues, and someone who read books. Someone who wasn't afraid of speaking their mind, but not full out gossiping about frivolous topics that didn't matter in life.

Someone that I wasn't going to find.

--x--

While wandering the streets of Chicago, I tended to notice things that others didn't. (I was also fairly good at reading people's facial expressions.)

Like, there was an uneven line of laundry hanging between an apartment and a three story house. Here were children running with sugary treats, perhaps coming from the market. There was a group of boys leaving a trail of water behind them, presumably coming from a swim in the river or lake.

There- oh, there is a girl. I stopped walking and took cover behind a very large bush across the street from her. One of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. One who is reading a _book_. Not trading foolish chitchat with other girls her age, like most would be doing. Since I was familiar with the cover, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Wuthering Heights.

I studied her face and found the imaginary lines of wisdom and knowledge. The contours of laughter and foresight. Like I said, imaginary lines. There wasn't so much as a blemish on her face, for which I was glad; I couldn't picture her with makeup on her face to make her more beautiful than she already was.

I read this by looking into her eyes. They had an amazing depth to them.

She was sitting by the window, cradling the book in her hands, while the light allowed me to behold her beauty. She had long, straight brown hair, chocolate eyes, fair skin, and a heart-shaped face.

I think I had just found my someone.

Suddenly, the girl jumped up, and her book was knocked off of her lap. She hurried to pick it up, and place it on the polished wood table next to her. A lady came up behind her, and looked to be scolding her, and was shaking her fist. The expression on the girls face told me she was about to be punished for a reason I did not know.

The lady yelled some more and made a shooing gesture with her hands, than walked away. She looked a little shaken, but otherwise moved closer to the window. I ducked further behind the bush so she wouldn't spot me. She proceeded to try and open the window.

The way her brow furrowed as she worked to open the stubborn window, was so cute. She finally got it unstuck and allowed herself a grin of triumph. How she glowed.

"Girl, quit dilly-dallying, and get to working on the dusting and dishes! We aren't paying you as a servant to just stand about!" a voice bellowed from inside the house and could probably be heard through out the neighborhood.

The girl flinched, and turned back toward the voice.

Tomorrow, I vowed, I'll learn her name.

No matter that the boundaries of classes and social circles separated us. I found that it didn't mean a thing to me, which surprised me. I usually thought things through before carrying them out.

Whatever it was I was thinking was about to distort my reputation.

But the thing was… I didn't give a care in the world.

And how that frightened me so.

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